IRON men from Battlesbury Barracks, Warminster, put their strength to the ultimate test to raise £585 for the Cancer Research Campaign.

Warrant officer Steve Hall and Captain Tony O'Connor braved Europe's first ever half iron man triathlon.

They competed against 1,400 other iron men, which included 200 elite athletes from across the world.

Held in Llanberis, near Snowdonia, in September, the pair swam 2km across Lake Padarn, cycled 90km meandering up three-mile hills, then finished with a half marathon.

WO2 Hall said: "It was definitely, without doubt, the most physically demanding achievement we have ever made.

"All the hard work and rigorous training schedules definitely paid off, and it was great to be up there with so many world class elite athletes."

Capt O'Connor said: "We hope our achievement will encourage other budding athletes to join us."

Events fundraiser Kirsty Bowron, who received the cheque, said: "Without supporters like Steve and Tony we would not be able to fund the 700 research projects we support."